El Clasico Special: Mission Accomplished

After the humiliating 4-0 defeat in hand, Real Madrid squared what they started this season with 1-2 victory. This El Clasico become a complete drama with all downs(1-0), ups(1-2), an acrobatic volley from Karim Benzema for the equalizer, 250th goal on a crucial match for Cristiano Ronaldo and a disallowed goal for Gareth Bale.

“Every single team has to learn to dig in against Barcelona. We did just that, we hung on and showed some patience. The players that we’ve got up top it make it easier for us to break on the counter, but the whole team worked hard, from Keylor right through to Cristiano, and we did a really great job. These three points give us a boost to keep on fighting”.

“Facing Barcelona, one of the best teams in the world is tough, and to play against them here is even more difficult. When you’ve not got the ball you need to run lots and dig in and try and catch them on the counter, but there were spells during which we managed to keep the ball. We owed our supporters one and we’ve shown that we can go all the way against anyone, but the most important thing is that we all worked hard and that we picked up the three points”.

Only Red Card of the match:

“Ramos is a big boy and there’s no need to give him a telling off. There are times during a game that these things happen and that’s what the referee is there for, but Sergio always gives his all to help the team”.

Wish to play in forward:

“I’m a defender, but if I can get forward I try to do so. Sitting back very deep is difficult for me because my instinct is to go forward, although first and foremost it’s about defending”.

Pepe:

“This win means a lot to us”

“Football show us that with spirit and humility one can achieve great success. We showed great respect for the opposition, we played for our fans and ultimately we’ve given them a victory. Everyone comes out of this on a high and it’s special to win at the Camp Nou. We’ve shown that we’re a team that wants to win and that by working together things become easier and that’s what we’re going to try to do”.

“This win means a lot to us. It’s been a tough year for everyone and this win shows all of our spirit and desire, something which has been questioned by many. The coach focussed on the key areas and we were well prepared for the game. The win gives us three points, but moreover we needed to give our supporters a win like this”.

Beauty of El Clásico

“We are two great teams, with top players and we respect each other. It’s good that the people are able to enjoy this sort of game. We worked hard and we made the most of our weapons. We won with ten men and the Real Madrid spirit always returns”.

About title race:

“It’s going to be tough and we’re aware of that. But when we pull this shirt, we need to give our all for our millions of fans. They suffer along with us when we don’t win. We’re going to work hard so that come the end of the season we can give them back something special”.